Gov. Sunshine undermines home rule as he 'supports' it

Thursday

Jul 23, 2009 at 12:01 AM

Ron Littlepage

Spinning around the proposed city budget news dial ... click.

First, some humor:

A big reason Jacksonville is facing a budget crisis is the $100 million in lost revenue that resulted from Gov. Charlie Crist's insistence on capping how much money local governments can raise and his other property tax reduction schemes.

So check out his office's reply to a Jacksonville resident complaining about Mayor John Peyton's proposed tax increase.

"Thank you for your e-mail to Gov. Crist. The governor understands your concerns about local tax assessments ... Although the governor appreciates the opportunity to review your concerns, this is a local government matter.

"As you know, our government is structured on the notion that local governments can best assess the needs of their residents."

Then why in the heck has Gov. Sunshine been gutting home rule ever since he's been in office?

Click.

Now on to more serious stuff.

Part of the budget debate is how much money the Sheriff's Office eats up.

With that in mind, you should know that taxpayers are paying a police officer salary to Nelson Cuba, the "loose lips sink ships" police union president who works full time for the union instead of patrolling the city's streets.

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